I can't believe it's already July and that the year is half over!!! Not only that, but it's the first Wednesday of the month, which can only mean one thing. It's time for another Ask An Author feature provided to us by Dark. If you have questions you want to ask your favorite authors, but don't want to ask the questions yourself, you can always send your questions to Dark for inclusion in the Ask An Author feature.

Welcome back to another quirky question and answer session with your favorite authors!

In AtA #39, we had questions for authors Billy Martin, Dayne Mora, and Mark Arbour.

In AtA #40, we hear from authors Cole Matthews, M.A. Church, Riley Jericho, and Carlos Hazday.

Just shy of his three-year anniversary on GA, Cole Matthews joined the ranks of our Signature Authors. While this may be his first appearance in this blog, his new story Third Shift is already generating discussion and interest in the forums. Which, by the way, is where Cole has posted a fantastic intro to the story, so go check it out. With more than 5,000 likes and 26 stories, this boy is not slowing down anytime soon! I remember when he first started posting on the collaborative project Gaia Town. Setting up and organizing that project was fascinating to watch. What you may not know about him is that he’s something of a gardening maniac who has recently experimented with making his own jam/jelly. Those cookies he posted in his blog from the antique cookbook are also pretty good, but if you really want to know Cole, then you’ll read The Second Fifty, an autobiography of his life. It’s a must-read.

To Cole Matthews: Did you enjoy writing your most recent murder mystery, and do you plan a second?

Next up is popular fiction writer M.A. Church. She has been a member of GA for about five and a half years now, but early on started branching out into the online publishing genre. You may remember her from her original nom de plume “nomoretears.” She only claimed herself on GA two years ago and though she’s never said, I think it had to do with her rising popularity in the published world. Did you know she’s been mentioned in the Rainbow Awards twice now? She can also be found at Dreamspinner and All Romance Books. Check out her profile on Goodreads or her blog to see what she’s been up to lately. Of her five stories on GA, my favorite is In Enemy Hands. Of course, I’m a huge sci-fi fan, so those who know me will not be surprised by that. Like many, my favorite character is Adler. I think a lot of my love for him comes from the way MA Church writes his interactions with his brother. I also love the slow build-up between the main characters and between the supporting cast. There’s a lot of cleverly-hidden details and it’s always fascinating to see how characters navigate culture differences. There’s a lot M.A. Church has planned for 2016, so check-in with her often to see what’s new!

To M.A. Church: Did someone have talk you into posting your stories for the public to read or did you decide yourself?

While it did not work out to include the next question into special edition #33, British Author Riley Jericho remains popular here on GA. He promises that his long-running narrative An English Teen... is finished! He’s just got to add the last chapters to the site. I’m sure his fans will be both relieved and disappointed. As with many people, real-life can often find a way to interfere with writing, but Riley has persevered, a feat not to be undervalued. Andy Q Gordon continues to work with Riley on ET, and at over 100,000 reads, it’s a partnership that’s definitely working. I wonder what Riley will work on next?

To Riley Jericho: What made you decide to write m/m fiction?

Starting with this blog entry, I decided to shake things up just a little and feature 4 authors every month in honor of this being the 4^th year of the blog series.
Today’s 4^th and final author is Carlos Hazday. He says that his blog question and answer will expire soon, so it made sense to start here. When I asked him this time if he wanted to participate, he said, “How could I not be up for it? I was the one who complained when your blog was pre-empted this month, remember?” Which of course I had forgotten. We’ve had a couple of questions for Carlos over the years; you might remember him talking about reader feedback, but those of you who frequent his forums already know how interactive they are. But for those of you crying over the ending to the latest in the CJ series, see below:

To Carlos Hazday: I love the CJ series. What's next for CJ and his crew?

That’s it for now! For more info on these authors, go check out their stories, post in their forums, and/or catch them in chat!

See you next time, with authors Headstall, mikiesboy, Sammy Blue, and Sasha Distan.

I’m always in the market for new questions! Simply PM me (Dark).

Until next time!
Dark